


One Bird and Two Stones

by bluefirebabe



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: (Gift for my beta reader 💞), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Background Black Eagles, Established Relationship, F/F, no beta we die like Glenn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:01:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24371713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluefirebabe/pseuds/bluefirebabe
Summary: How Dorothea and Petra’s relationship progresses when they’re in a modern college and have a parrot.
Relationships: Dorothea Arnault/Petra Macneary
Kudos: 23





	One Bird and Two Stones

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dymo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dymo/gifts).



> I know parrots pretty well, so when I was looking up things from Guatemala to center this fic around, I saw Amazon parrots and figured I’d roll with that. They’re birds that require a lot of love (and cuddles!!) and are also incredibly smart, so I imagine Dorothea being very doting and Petra being the voice of reason.
> 
> I’m very sorry if anything stated in here is inaccurate! I researched as best I could and I’ll edit to accommodate any mistakes anyone notices... this isn’t beta read because it’s a gift for my beta reader.

“Ooh, they have birds here! Petra, sweetie, look!” Dorothea pointed to inside of a pet store. A dozen parakeets flitted around their stacked cages, and next to them stood a circular cage on a table.

Petra’s job was to hold Dorothea’s hand to keep her from straying into too many antique stores. She was doing a good job so far, and it was nearly lunchtime. They had enough money for paying their rent still, so one trip into a pet store shouldn’t have hit their wallets too hard. Her lover dragged her through the door and over to the display excitedly.

”Yes, they are having very—they are very nice.” She wanted to look at them closely. They walked closer, and Petra did notice it smelled slightly of uncleanliness. Still, the birds were seeming healthy from the way they hopped around.

”I’ve always wanted some sort of bird; They’re so elegant!” She poked a finger into the budgies’ cage, making them all tweet, before Petra tugged on her hand, pulling her away.

”It would not be doing well to frighten them. Still, I am agreeing. Only I was having—was thinking you were having more elegance.” This compliment made Dorothea blush, which was what Petra had been aiming for. Flawless aim at her goals was nothing new to Petra, but flirting... There was no color.

“You’re far more beautiful than I.” Dorothea giggled, before turning back to the birds, thankfully not sticking her fingers in the cages. Her compliments were not unexpected, but very appreciated.

”You are having all my thanks.” Petra noticed the other birdcage, and tapped Dorothea’s shoulder to show it to her. A lone green and yellow parrot sat on a perch, looking disinterested in the two young women. “Have you been seeing this one?”

“An Amazon,“ Dorothea read the price plaque. “How fancy! He’s so cute, too!”

Dorothea smiled at the bird, who did not smile back. “Though, you’re cuter by far.”

”The Amazons are birds with much... they are very beautiful.” Petra did not respond to the compliment, knowing they could go back and forth happily over who was the cuter girlfriend. But they were in a public place and she was thinking it wouldn’t be the best option. 

“We are—were having these in Guatemala.” Petra recounted. It had been a few years since she came to the United States for her better education. “Near me, there were being... had been many.”

“Do you miss it?” Dorothea’s expression was worrying—no, she had a worried expression. “I can’t imagine what that must have been like for you.”

”I am missing it... it was a place of much beauty, even if it was having less goodness at times... I have not going... haven’t been there in 2 years.” Petra blinked a few times, not wanting any liquid to spill from her eyes. The bird still sat there, its head cocked slightly in what might’ve been sympathy, and she wondered if it was because it, too, was not home.

”The birds like this were not being in cages.” She could sometimes see them flying around when she sat outside (when it was safe to do so), their wings spread wide open. “It was a thing with much beauty... we are not seeing many of these things here.”

”Petra... I’m sorry.” Dorothea gave her a reassuring pat on the back, which did give Petra much comfort.

”You do not need to be worrying. I am having... happier, here with you. There are many of things with wonder! It is just... different.” Petra nodded her head and wiped her eyes. A pet store was not the place for having tears.

”I’m not sure how to help...” Dorothea frowned. “If there’s anything I can do for you, let me know, sweetie.”

”Your shoulder is all I am needing.” Petra said, smiling slightly. “Not just to... for crying, but for leaning on as well. The same way I am giving you an offer of mine.”

“Of course, Petra.” The brunette quickly kissed her girlfriend on the cheek. “No reservation needed.”

The parrot, noticing they were no longer paying attention to it, chirped. Petra frowned, noticing the state of his cage; the lining hadn’t been changed in a long while, the sunflower seeds were dusty and mostly just empty shells, and the water looked similarly to the lining. Dorothea stared at it, her brow furrowing.

”We could be letting him fly free.” Petra was having both an idea for a joke and an actual idea. “He could make our apartment being his jungle.”

“We...” Dorothea stared blankly. Her face was confused, until it suddenly lit up. “Oh, hehe! Yes, Petra, I think that could be good for the little guy.”

”I am feeling bad for his state. He is needing... is in need of a new home, too.” Petra compared the parrot to herself; They were both not in ideal conditions, and while there were good things around them (such as the chirping parakeet company), it would be best to go somewhere better for their needs. Maybe the bird could also attend an American college.

”I’ll go talk to the boomer who owns this place.” Dorothea looked around the store for some sort of manager, not seeing any. “Some idiot must be in charge somewhere... Maybe I’ll leave a review if I can’t break his arms.”

”You are having my thanks, Dorothea, and the bird’s too, I am thinking.” 

✯¸.•´*¨`*•✿ ✿•*`¨*`•.¸✯

“I’m home~!” Dorothea called out, chirping in a more bird-like way than their actual bird, who screeched at the sound of someone entering. “There’s my little alarm! Oh, and my love, too!”

”Dorothea, you are having arriving sooner than I was think—thought!” Petra hurriedly hid something in her pocket, flipping open a textbook to hide the notecards underneath. The time was too soon to be caught.

“Is that a bad thing?” Dorothea teased. It had been almost 4 years since Petra came to America for college, and in that time she had learned a little more of humor.

”It is just having unexpected...ness. There is not... It is not bad.” Her time spent with Dorothea was precious to her, which was the reason Petra had not wanted her coming home so soon. It didn’t make sense.

”Well, I was just coming by to pick up Lycaste for her vet appointment.” Dorothea walked towards the bird cage (which they had spent probably too much money on), opening the door.

”Please be remembering the carrier. We are not wanting her loosen... being loose on the subway again.”

”Of course, my love.” Blowing a kiss, Dorothea left the apartment with the bird (and not the carrier...).

Petra closed the textbook and tried to reorder the notecards that had been scattered. She needed it to have... to be ready in a few weeks for their date. It would be one of Dorothea’s choice (Petra had chosen hiking for this week, and she was thinking that being all sweaty wouldn’t be romantic enough), the perfect time.

Muttering something to herself in Spanish, Petra scratched out the words on one notecard. It was not the perfect thing to say... She was wanting her grammar to be good as well. If they were going to have a perfect life together, the proposal needed to be perfect as well.

She would not have been able to marry a woman at home, although she was hoping that would change someday. Petra wanted to show Dorothea Guatemala someday, and their wedding seemed a good time, but it was not possible yet.

The ring in its box in her pocket was heavy, and she was glad to at least have that sorted out. It was emerald, to match her love’s eyes. It was minimalistic, which Petra hoped she was right in assuming Dorothea would appreciate. She had complained to Petra often about all the intricate fashions... A simple thing could show her love, maybe.

It did not matter how the ring was if she could not say her proposal. There was time to be... to figure it out. The sooner the better so she could be ready. She had loved Dorothea a while, and they had dated after around a year of friendship...

Petra wondered if 3 years together was too soon for proposing, but they had discussed it before and agreed they would want to be married sometime after graduation. But was that... did that mean she could only propose after that? She was not sure, yet it seemed a good time.

✯¸.•´*¨`*•✿ ✿•*`¨*`•.¸✯

Dorothea got looks from people as she walked down the street, and realized it was because of the parrot clinging to her shirt collar. Her carrier had been forgotten, it seemed.

”Lycaste, ignore all those bullies staring at you,” she reassured the bird, who didn’t seem particularity worried. “They’re only jealous.”

That statement was one she had repeated many times, be it to a parrot, Petra, or even herself. It was insane that carrying an exotic creature around the subway got her the same amount of glances that holding her girlfriend’s hand did.

Perhaps they thought of Petra as an exotic creature too, in a sense... Maybe she ought to carry an exotic sword with her too, to take care of the jerks around town.

Getting her own seat in the subway car was easy. Even when she brought the carrier, no one wanted to sit next to the girl with a crazy bird. It suited her fine; The more space the merrier. Plus, getting to stretch a little more made it easier to think.

Frowning, she looked at her notes app. Were these too much like wedding vows? A proposal was meant to be akin to those, correct? Well, Dorothea hadn’t ever married someone before, so hopefully Petra would forgive her for a slip up or two. She knew she’d forgive Petra, if that were the case.

Imperfections were what made people human. Still, she wanted to be as close to perfect as possible. Dorothea would only get to propose once (she was sure Petra would accept, as they’d discussed marriage before), so she should try her best with it.

She’d done extra performances at the opera house for years to make extra money. After saving it for all that time, she had made enough to get a ring made. The jade was supposedly from Guatemala, to remind Petra of home. The design was asymmetrical in a way that reminded Dorothea of Petra.

She would have them just get married in Guatemala, if it was allowed. Dorothea had seriously considered marching down to wherever the hell whoever the hell was in charge lived and forcibly legalizing gay marriage, but ultimately had decided against it. For the time being.

”Hm...” she revised her speech for the umpteenth time, wondering if she needed a thesis statement for it.

✯¸.•´*¨`*•✿ ✿•*`¨*`•.¸✯

Their date had finally arrived, and Dorothea couldn’t have been happier. Sure, the butterflies were having a party in her stomach, but that wasn’t anything new. She’d performed in operas in front of thousands (well, usually only hundreds live, although the people watching from home certainly counted), she could handle proposing in front of one person.

Her chosen location was a café, and the time was sunset. Petra had been delighted when Dorothea has told her about this spot; She’d been perhaps too overjoyed that they would be having a nice view for their date, which was neither here nor there.

”Isn’t the view lovely, sweetie?” The sun was setting, lighting the clouds a beautiful orange. They had a breathtaking view of it from their cliff. Dorothea wished she had found the spot on her own, but truthfully, Caspar had shown all of their club (made up of 8 incredibly unique people, including Petra) the spot.

”We were having been here before,” Petra said, sitting down at the table. “But it is having much more beauty at sunset.”

”I agree. It’s the perfect place for m— our date.” It wouldn’t do well to let it slip what she was planning. The ring was still in her pocket, something she checked for about every second. It was a wonder Petra hadn’t caught on yet. Dorothea was a splendid actress, and pretending this was an ordinary date was just yet another performance.

Every second that the brunette wasn’t distracted thinking about how she was about to propose, Dorothea was distracted by her girlfriend. Petra had decided to dye her hair magenta, which matched the sunset beautifully.

And Dorothea listened to every word Petra said. Not all of it was grammatically correct, but it was infinitely interesting to Dorothea anyways. Anything Petra said truly was. Dorothea tried to participate in the conversation best she could, yet she was a little distant, her mind straying away from the moment constantly.

”My love? Are you being... feeling okay?” Petra stopped talking about her latest sporting event for a moment.

”...Huh?” Dorothea snapped back to the moment. “Oh, I was just thinking about something!”

“I am relating to that. What are you having thinking about?”

Was this her chance? Dorothea, not a coward, thought it might be. After all, if she waited another half hour, the sun would be gone and the effect ruined. Or they’d just go home and she’d have to wait at least two weeks to get her chance to pick a lovely spot (and this was the only one they hadn’t gone to yet that she was aware of...)

”Dorothea?” Drat, she had gotten distracted again.

”Well, I was just thinking... Dating you has made me the happiest I think I’ve ever been.” Dorothea swallowed, fumbling with the ring in her pocket.

”It is making me very happy as well.”

Dorothea, keeping her eyes on Petra, got out of her chair. If there had been a few butterflies before, there were certainly a million now.

”I was wondering... if you would make me that happy my whole life?” Dorothea got on one knee and took the ring in its box out of her pocket as Petra stood up.

”Petra, would you marry me?” There was no answer for a beat. Two... A silence even a few seconds long was concerning.

Then, Petra was scrambling to remove something from her own pocket. She, too, got on one knee. Dorothea smiled at the cheesiness of it all, but decided to let things play out instead of cutting the moment short.

”Dorothea, I am having thinking that you are my half-orange.”

Dorothea did not reply to this, staring blankly. Orange? Last she checked, none of her was orange in the slightest! The confusion on her face must’ve been obvious, because Petra elaborated.

”It’s... I am meaning... Oh! You are the one mating with—the mate to my soul!” Petra corrected what Dorothea assumed was a bilingual struggle.

”I had thinking... You’d had caught my heart in a trap.” Petra shook her head. “That analogy was not having... was not good. I mean to be saying... will you marry me?”

Dorothea giggled. “Well, Petra, why would I have asked you if I wasn’t going to accept?”

”That is having truth... So you are saying yes?” Petra looked surprised, and Dorothea herself was as well, for some reason. She hadn’t thought they’d both end up proposing, for one thing.

”Of course!” She stood up, realizing them both being on the ground was a little silly. Her girlfriend—no, fiancée, stood up as well. “Here, we should exchange these.”

Dorothea slipped her ring onto Petra’s finger, noting how pretty it looked. Petra did the same, and Dorothea was stunned at the simplicity of it. She’d wear it forever (well, until the wedding at least).

”I was having thinking... Our honeymoon could be going to Guatemala.” Petra smiled. “I have always been wanting to show it to you.”

”I would love that, sweetie.”

”We are not having marriage yet, we should be having en... we should enjoy the moment.” Petra gave Dorothea a chaste kiss.

The one or two other people at the café cheered, and an ominous looking person who stood inside at the window gave a thumbs up. How kind of Hubie to show his support.

Dorothea and her _fiancée_ (gosh, she loved that word already), wouldn’t be married for a while, but that didn’t stop Dorothea from coming up with all sorts of plans on the spot, which she excitedly told her lover about.

✯¸.•´*¨`*•✿ ✿•*`¨*`•.¸✯

_Petra returned to her homeland of Guatemala in the hopes of helping to improve conditions. At every step along the way, she was accompanied by Dorothea, who had left America behind to support her. Dorothea led many a protest, which were eventually fruitful. Petra and Dorothea could not completely reform the country alone, but with the help of many others, they helped many laws change. Petra renewed her vows with Dorothea years later, when their work had reached its peak. It is said that she became the person whom Petra loved the most._

**Author's Note:**

> Paired ending with some modern edits seemed a fitting end? I obviously didn’t write the original (don’t own fire emblem).
> 
> Beta reader whose name I’m not going to expose,
> 
> I LOVE YOU SO MUCH 💖💖💖💖💖 YOU’RE A WONDERFUL FRIEND, whether we’re shitposting or having a serious discussion, you’re wonderful and make everything so much more entertaining. I guess this exchange pertains to writing so I should focus on that: You point out all my stupid mistakes and I’m so grateful for that. Also, I’d stab fictional homophobes with you (well, you’re sort of in the background watching me go apeshit on them but I digress) any day! I’m sorry if this fic doesn’t live up to your expectations at all, I couldn’t find too many free things to go off of on the ol’ interwebs; I’m very excited to see what you do with the prompt I gave you, though!! 
> 
> To the rest of the people reading this, 
> 
> HELLO AND HAVE I MENTIONED HOW MUCH I LOVE MY BETA READER??
> 
> I have beta reader appreciation instead of brain :/ I may die out of love from this condition (worth it).


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